11th annual WWE Royal Rumble Party

Congratulations to Laura and George Zilka as they were the big winners at last night's 11th annual Girod Royal Rumble party. Both had wrestler Sheamus who was the 22nd entrant and the last man standing in a 30-man over the top rope battle royal. Laura picked #22 in the Mirage Division and George had picked #22 in the Bellagio Division.

All WWE blog posts
Wikipedia Royal Rumble page

UNDERCARD

Yoshi Tatsu pinned Heath Slater after a spinwheel kick from the top rope.

Smackdown World Champion Daniel Bryan defeated Mark Henry and The Big Show in a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match.

WWE Royal Rumble - Mirage Division

Payouts

$20 Laura Zilka - Last Man Standing (a)
$5 Judy Manke - First to lose a wrestler (b)
$5 Darrin Goats - First to lose all three wrestlers (c)
$5 Darrin Goats - Wrestler #13 (d)
$5 Darrin Goats - Wrestler who eliminated Wrestler #13 (e)

The Match

(1) The Miz - Laura Zilka
Cue up The Miz's music as the #1 entrant, per the final Raw before the PPV. Miz emerged through his "Awesome" bubble letters from WM27 last year as Cole declared that Miz will go coast-to-cast tonight. In the ring, Miz took the mic and said everyone backstage is laughing and snickering at him for being #1. He said those same people doubted him when he first set foot in WWE and he will prove everyone wrong tonight.

(2) Alex Riley - Judy Manke
Riley came out as #2 to begin the match. After a brief exchange, Miz dumped Riley over the top rope, eliminating Riley. [RILEY: 1 Judy Manke (b)] Miz then danced around in the ring, waiting for his next foe.

WWE Royal Rumble - Bellagio Division

Payouts

$20 George Zilka - Last Man Standing (a)
$5 Marc Iacianci - First to lose a wrestler (b)
$5 Jack Newell - First to lose all three wrestlers (c)
$5 Jack Newell - Wrestler #13 (d)
$5 Marc Iacianci - Wrestler who eliminated Wrestler #13 (e)

The Match

(1) The Miz - Andy Rigo
Cue up The Miz's music as the #1 entrant, per the final Raw before the PPV. Miz emerged through his "Awesome" bubble letters from WM27 last year as Cole declared that Miz will go coast-to-cast tonight. In the ring, Miz took the mic and said everyone backstage is laughing and snickering at him for being #1. He said those same people doubted him when he first set foot in WWE and he will prove everyone wrong tonight.

(2) Alex Riley - Marc Iacianci
Riley came out as #2 to begin the match. After a brief exchange, Miz dumped Riley over the top rope, eliminating Riley. [RILEY: 1 Marc Iacianci (b)] Miz then danced around in the ring, waiting for his next foe.

Say Goodbye Fausto .. er .. Roberto

Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested in the Dominican Republic for using a false identity. Apparently his name is Roberto Hernandez Heredia and his age is 31 not 28.

Carmona has been with the Indians organization since 2000 when he was signed as an amateur free agent.

I'm sure the Indians will do their due diligence regarding this matter but my opinion is the Tribe should void his contract.

A similar situation is unfolding involving Leo Nunez of the Miami Marlins who left the team in September to sort out these issues. He has still not been re-instated.

I understand crime and poverty in Dominican Republic is incredible. I understand baseball is the only way out for many kids. You can make the argument that MLB exploits Latin Players by paying higher signing bonuses to younger players. 

Bottom line
This man is a liar. He has been living a lie for 11 years. He is a 7-15 pitcher with questionable character. It's time to cut him loose. He is just not worth it.

Ohio State Buckeyes: 2015 National Champions

Tonight is the College Football National Championship Game between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama. On the other hand, the Ohio State Buckeyes are licking their wounds after suffering the most losses in a season since 1897.

Have no fear Urban Meyer is here. I'm going on record right now saying that Ohio State will be crowned national champions three years from tonight. Am I basing this on quarterback Braxton Miller having an outstanding senior season? Do I like Meyer's first recruiting class? Not necessarily.

Bottom line: young (new) football coaches win championships

Over the last 11 years, the college football winner on average was coached by someone in their 3rd year on the job. The list below contains the winners during the BCS era of College Football.

2011 Auburn Gene Chizik (2nd)
2010 Alabama Nick Saban (3rd)
2009 Florida Urban Meyer (4th)
2008 LSU Les Miles (3rd)
2007 Florida Urban Meyer (2nd)
2006 Texas Mack Brown (8th)
2005 USC Pete Carroll (4th)
2004 LSU Nick Saban (4th)
2003 Ohio State Jim Tressel (2nd)
2002 Miami Larry Coker (1st)
2001 Oklahoma Bob Stoops (2nd)

Akron fans, don't get too excited with Terry Bowden on board. This doesn't apply to you. There's a reason your nickname is the Zips.

The formula is simple: Big time program + big time coach = championship very soon.

Although the sample size is much smaller, the recent trend in the NFL is conference championship team come from coaches in their first few years on the job.

2011 Green Bay Packers Mike McCarthy (5th) / Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin (4th)
2010 New Orleans Saints Sean Payton (4th) / Indianapolis Colts Jim Caldwell (1st)
2009 Pittsburgh Steelers Mike Tomlin (2nd) / Arizona Cardinals Ken Whisenhunt (2nd)

2012 Running Schedule and Goals

Most of you know I took up running and exercising around the same time I started this blog. Today I’m laying out all the races I’m targeting in 2012. The Cleveland race is a definite – the others are races I may or may not run depending on running partners. Be sure to follow my blog all season to see how I am performing.

March:
3/10/12 - St. Malachi Run - 5 mile road race
3/17/12 - Strongsville Super Saturday 5K Run

April:
4/14/12 - Run for your Life, Berea – 5k

May:
5/20/12 - Cleveland 10K

June:
6/23/12 - Dean DePiero 5k, Parma

July:
7/7/12 - Run for the Pierogies, Parma – 5k

August:
8/4/12 - Cleveland Clinic 5K Run

September:
9/15/12 - Cleveland Race for the Cure, 5k race
9/29/12 - Akron Marathon, team relay event

October:
10/13/12 – Monster Mutt Dash, Berea – 5k

November:
11/22/12- Cleveland Turkey Trot

Training for St. Malachi has already started. I hope to break 48 minutes. My 5k and 10k goals this season are to break 27 and 55 minutes respectively. Keep your fingers crossed.